Natural Selection 2 similar games & best alternatives

Natural Selection 2 - Trailer
Natural Selection 2 - natural-selection-2_1.avif
Natural Selection 2 - natural-selection-2_2.avif
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Natural Selection 2 - natural-selection-2_6.avif

Natural Selection 2

PC (Microsoft Windows) • 2012

Should you play it?

A fast paced multiplayer shooter that pits aliens against humans in a strategic and action-packed struggle for survival!

What works

  • Unique fps-rts hybrid gameplay
  • Strong team cooperation and leadership
  • Asymmetric factions with distinct playstyles
  • High skill ceiling and strategic depth
  • Active community with ongoing updates

Things to keep in mind

  • Steep learning curve for new players
  • Small and sometimes toxic player base
  • Long loading times and optimization issues
  • Limited character customization
  • Requires microphone and communication

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • PlanetSide 2

  • Battlefield 4™

  • GUILTY GEAR 2 -OVERTURE-

  • ARC Raiders

  • Wildgate

  • Executive Assault 2

Less dominating

Games that feels like Natural Selection 2 but with less domination over others

  • HELLDIVERS™ Dive Harder Edition

  • Borderlands 2

  • Sanctum 2

  • Guardians Frontline

  • Killing Floor 2

  • Eximius: Seize the Frontline

Less competitive

Games that feels like Natural Selection 2 but with less competition against others

  • Warhammer 40,000: Darktide

  • Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide

  • Starship Troopers: Extermination

  • The Red Solstice

  • Space Hulk: Deathwing Enhanced Edition

  • GTFO

More expressive

Games that feels like Natural Selection 2 but with more self-expression and customization

  • DARK SOULS™ III

  • Unfortunate Spacemen

  • Blood Strike

  • Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® - Soulstorm

  • Marvel Rivals

  • Marathon

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with Natural Selection 2. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with Natural Selection 2. These titles are not in What to play next.

Natural Selection 2: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Competition, Status, Fellowship, Domination. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Leadership, Cooperation. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Expression.

Last update: 21/08/2026